Switzerland in two minds over Union

SWITZERLAND’S attachment to consensus politics will come under unaccustomed strain in the coming months after strong supporters and die-hard opponents of the European Union made major gains in last weekend’s general election.

The clear-cut divisions revealed over the country’s relationship with the Union are likely to make it more difficult for the four-party coalition to continue constructing compromise bridges on EU issues as it has done since voters rejected closer links in the European Economic Area almost three years ago.

Pro-European Social Democrats recorded their best-ever election result, gaining 12 seats and emerging as the largest party with 54 members in the 200-seat parliamentary lower house. Yet voters also raised the anti-EU Swiss People’s Party’s representation from 25 to 29 members.

According to outgoing Finance Minister and Social Democrat leader Otto Stich, the vote confirmed the country still needed time to decide how close to get to the Union and predicted the government in the next years would certainly not be able to force a decision.

While some observers predict the increasing polarisation over the Union will lead to more heated debate over possible membership, others believe the overall effect of the increased support for either side of the fence has been largely neutral. Berne political analyst Adrian Vatter commented afterwards: “Any hopes that the European question would be cleared up by the election have been disappointed because both political directions won.”The Swiss People’s Party increased its standing after an aggressive campaign led by industrialist Christoph Blocher appealed to patriotism and Swiss independence and accused EU supporters of being “tired of their native land”.

The health of the future relationship may now largely depend on the economic climate and the Union’s ability to cut its unemployment and achieve a single currency. Numbers out of work in Switzerland stand at 4%, low by EU standards but high for the Swiss. Some in the country even argue Switzerland would prosper more by staying outside any future EU monetary union.

Irrespective of the nature of the longer-term relationship, Swiss and European Commission officials are continuing to work on a range of bilateral issues between the two, including the sensitive question of the free movement of people.

The result will not affect the make-up of the seven-member cabinet which is expected to preserve the country’s “magic formula” of two members each from the Social Democrats, Radical Democrats and Christian Democrats and one from the Swiss People’s Party.